Narrative of some things of New Spain and of the great city of Temestitan, Mexico

■1 ' — ■

DOCUMENTS AND NARRATIVE..

CONCERNING THE

DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST

; OF LATIN AMERICA

'; i
\ PTJBLLSJii-iJ BY

; THE CC rPES SOCIETY

XI. W YOfiK ;

i

DOCUMENTS AND NARRATIVES

CONCERNING THE

DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST
OF LATIN AMERICA

PUBLISHED BY

THE CORTES SOCIETY

NEW YORK

NUMBER ONE

Edition limited to 250 copies
qf which ten are on Kelmscott paper

This copy is Number

5

NARRATIVE OF SOME THINGS

OF

NEW SPAIN

AND OF TUB GREAT CITY OF

TEMESTITAN MEXICO

WRITTEN BY

THE ANONYMOUS CONQUEROR

A COMPANION OF
HERNÁN CORTES

TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH AND ANNOTATED
BY

MARSHALL H. SAVILLE

THE CORTES SOCIETY

NEW YORK

1917

DG3

COCKAYNE, BOSTON

CONTENTS

CHAPTEB PAGK

Introduction 7

I. The Land of New Spain 15

n. Of the Animals 17

III. Of the Soldiers 19

IV. Of their Offensive and Defensive Arms 21
V. Dress of the Men 29

VI. Dress of the Women 31

Vn. Of the Thread which they Work . . 33

Vin. Of the Foods which they have and use 35

IX. Op the Drinks that they use .... 39

X. How they make Cacao 41

XI. Of other kinds of Wine which they have 43

XII. Of the order of Government .... 45

XIII. Of their Religion, Worship and Temples 47

XIV. What these Towers were like .... 49
XV. Of the Sacrifices 51

XVI. Of the Cities of this Land and Descrip-
tion OF SOME OF Them 55

XVII. The Lake of Mexico 57

XVIII. Of the great City of Temistitan,

Mexico 61

XIX. Of the Streets 63

5

LCX'^^'^

6 CONTENTS

XX. Op the Plazas and Market-Places . . 65
XXI. Of the Temples and Mosques that it

HELD 69

XXII. Of the Habitations 73

XXin. Marriage 77

XXIV. Of the Burials 79

NOTES 83

INTRODUCTION

During the year 1917 occurs the four
hundredth anniversary of the discovery of
Mexico. Early in February, 1517, Diego Ve-
lasquez, Governor of Cuba, sent out three
vessels under the command of Hernandez
de Cordova to explore the waters to the
westward of that island. As pilot of the
expedition went Anton Alaminos, who as a
youth had accompanied Columbus in 1503
on his fourth voyage of discovery. On this
trip Columbus set sail from Santo Domingo,
and made the mainland of Central America,
along the Honduras coast. While tarrying
here for a few days, a great trading canoe
arrived from the north laden with people
and merchandise, giving Columbus tangi-
ble evidence of the existence of a people
having a higher culture than that found in
the Antilles. This canoe had come from
the province of Yucatan, and if Columbus

8 Introduction

had but turned his eyes in this direction, to
him would have fallen the glory of the dis-
covery of Mexico. Instead, however, he
pushed on with his fleet to the east and
southeast, against adverse currents and con-
trary winds, and finally reached Panama.
Cordova was undoubtedly influenced by the
pilot Alaminos to steer in the direction of
the region to which Columbus had turned his
back, and on February 8, 1517, he sighted the
island of Cozumel, close to the Yucatan coast.
One of the chief sources of information
regarding this eventful voyage is furnished
us by Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who was not
only on this expedition, but went in 1518,
with Grijalva, when he was placed in charge
of an expedition to continue the discovery
of the Mexican coast, which had been skirted
by Cordova as far as what is now the city
of Vera Cruz. Again in 1519, Bernal Diaz was
a member of the larger expedition com-
manded by Hernán Cortes, under whose
intrepid leadership the discovery and con-
quest of the so-called empire of Monte-

Introduction 9

zuma, Mexico, was added to the laurels of
the Spanish crown. The complete work of
Bernal Diaz relating to these memorable
expeditions has only recently been published,
and a masterly translation into English with
scholarly annotations by Alfred P. Mauds-
ley, has just been printed by the Hakluyt
Society in five volumes, the final volume
having been issued in 1916.

In the work of Bernal Diaz we have the
written account of but one of four eye-
witnesses of the Conquest of Mexico. Fore-
most in importance are the five letters of the
conqueror himself, Hernán Cortes. These
were sent to the King of Spain, Charles the
Fifth, and the second, third, and fourth were
soon printed. The first letter sent from the
coast of Mexico has been lost, but the in-
formation contained in it has been supplied
by a letter, apparently containing the same
information, sent at the same time to the
King, by the just established Municipality
of the new town of Vera Cruz. The fifth
letter related to an overland journey made

10 Introduction

by Cortes from the city of Mexico to Hon-
duras during the years 1526-1527. This
letter and the letter of the Municipality,
were only found and published during the
past century. These five letters have been
translated into different languages and pub-
lished many times, but not until 1908 was
an adequate translation in English of all
five published collectively, when Francis A.
MacNutt issued them with annotations in a
two-volume edition.

The accounts of the two other eyewitnesses
and participants, in the conquest of Mexico,
the Anonymous Conqueror and Andres de
Tapia, have never been published in English,
and it seems fitting at this time, the four
hundredth anniversary of the discovery of
Mexico, to undertake the publication of
translations of these two documents to sup-
plement the letters of Cortes and the history
of Bernal Diaz.

The narratives will be published separately,
and in the series the Itinerary of Gri jaiva
and other accounts, relating not only to the

Introduction 11

discovery and conquest of Mexico, but also
of Peru and other Latin-American countries,
will be included, giving only such documents
and narratives as have not been heretofore
published in the English language.

The valuable document relating to the
conquest of Mexico by the Anonymous Con-
queror, which is here published in English
for the first time, has come down to us from
the celebrated collection of voyages and
travels brought together in Italy, and pub-
lished in the Italian language by Ramusio.
This great collection has not been reprinted
in recent times like the great works of Hak-
luyt and Purchas, and it has never in its
entirety been translated into English.

The following notes relating to the differ-
ent editions of the work of Ramusio are taken
from the learned introductory treatise of
the great Mexican scholar Joaquin Garcia
Icazbalceta, to his translation from the Italian
into Spanish of the document which we have
now rendered in English from his Spanish
translation, and compared with the original

12 Introduction

Italian text published by Ramusio. The
Spanish translation of this report was pub-
lished by Icazbaleeta in his "Colección de
Documentos Para La Historia de Mexico,"
volume I, Mexico, 1858.

Volume I of Ramusio was first printed in
1550, and was reprinted 1554, 1563, 1588,
1606, and 1613. The second volume did
not appear until 1559, when Ramusio was
already dead. It was reprinted in 1574,
1583, and 1606. The third volume was ex-
clusively devoted to America, and in it is
found the report of the Anonymous Con-
queror. It was first published in 1556, and
was reprinted in 1565 and 1606. Ramusio
had brought together material for a fourth
volume, and it had already been delivered to
the printer, but the establishment was burned
in 1557, and with it the manuscript, a few
months after the death of Ramusio. The
loss of this material is to be lamented, as it
probably contained further documents re-
lating to America.

The original Spanish text of the report of

Introduction 13

the Anonymous Conqueror is lost; at least
its present whereabouts has not yet come to
light, and we have to rely upon the Italian
text. Much speculation has arisen as to
the identity of the writer, and it has been
held by some to be the work of Francisco de
Terrazas. The evidence has been studied
carefully by Icazbalceta, the result being
that we are still at a loss as to the author-
ship of this valuable document. In the pub-
lication of Ramusio it is simply ascribed to
a "Gentleman of Cortes." It is a matter
of deep regret that the author did not write
a more extensive account, or if he did, that
it should have been lost, for as Icazbalceta
remarks, "it is without doubt one of our
best historical documents."

There is a translation into French of the
Anonymous Conqueror by Ternaux Compans,
published by him in his "Recueil de Pieces
relatives a la Conque te du Mexique," Tome
X, of "Voyages, Relations et Mémoires
Originaux pour servir á I'Histoire de la
Découverte de TAmérique," 1837-1841.

14 Introduction

The two illustrations found accompanying
the report in the Spanish translation of
Icazbalceta are reproduced by him from the
text of the edition of Ramusio of 1556, with
the remarks that "the drawings are pure
caprice, and that of the temple has acquired
a certain celebrity that it does not merit."

Narrative of Some Things of New Spain and
of the Great City of Temestitan,^ Mexico,
Written by a Companion of Hernán Cortes,
The Anonymous Conqueror,

CHAPTER I

THE LAND OF NEW SPAIN

The land of New Spain is similar to Spain,
and the hills, valleys, and plains are nearly
of the same manner, except that the moun-
tains are more terrible and rugged, in so
much so that no one can climb them without
infinite labor, and there is a mountain range,
which so far as one knows, extends for more
than two hundred leagues. There are in
this province of New Spain great rivers and
springs of very good sweet water, extensive
woods on the hills and plains of very high
pines, cedars, oaks, and cypresses, besides
live oaks and a great variety of mountain
trees. In the interior of the province there
are very pleasant slopes, and near the coast
there are mountains that run from sea to sea.

15

16 The Anonymous Conqueror

The distance from one sea to the other is,
for the least part, one hundred and fifty
leagues, in another one hundred and seventy,
in another it exceeds two hundred, and in
another it is about five hundred, and higher
up 2 the distance is so great that no one
knows the number of leagues, because the
Spaniards have not seen it, nor will finish
exploring it from now on to a hundred years,
and every day new lands are discovered.

In this province are found mines of gold,
silver, copper, tin, steel, and iron.-^ There
are many kinds of fruits similar to those of
Spain in appearance, although to taste them
they have neither the same perfection of
flavor nor of color. It is quite true that
many are excellent, and as good as those of
Spain could be, but this is not generally the
case. The fields are most agreeable, and full
of a most beautiful herbage that grows to the
[height of the] middle of the leg. The soil
is very fertile and abundant, producing every-
thing sown in it, and in many places gives
two or even three crops to the year.

CHAPTER II

OF THE ANIMALS

There are many animals of different kinds,
as tigers, lions, and wolves, and likewise
jackals,^ which are between a fox and a dog,
and others between lion and wolf. The tigers
are of the same size as the lions, or perhaps
a little larger, except that they are more
robust and ferocious; they have the whole
body full of white spots, and none of these
animals harms the Spaniards, but to the
people of the country they show no tender-
ness, but on the contrary eat them. There
are also deer, and wild foxes, fallow deer,
hares, and rabbits. The pigs ^ have the
navel in the spine, and there are many other
and divers animals, particularly one rather
larger than a tom-cat, which has a purse
[pouch] in its belly in which it hides its young
when it wants to flee with them, because they
never leave her, and there she carries them

17

18 The Anonymous Conqueror

unseen and unknown, and when it flees,
climbs with them into trees. ^

This province of New Spain is for the
greater part thickly peopled. There are
great cities and towns, as many on the plains
as in the mountains. The houses are of
rough stones and mortar, and of earth and
adobe, and all have flat roofs. ^ This refers
to the habitations of those who dwell in the
interior, but those who live near the sea have
the walls of their houses of adobes, earth,
and boards, with thatched roofs. The na-
tives of this land have for a long time had the
most beautiful mesquites [mosques] ^ with
great towers and living quarters in which
they worshipped their idols and sacrificed
to them. Many of their cities are better
laid out than those here [of Spain,] with
very handsome streets and squares where
they have their markets.

CHAPTER III

OF THE SOLDIERS

The people of this land are well made,
rather tall than short. They are swarthy
as leopards, of good manners and gestures,
for the greater part very skillful, robust, and
tireless, and at the same time the most
moderate men known. They are very war-
like and face death with the greatest resolu-
tion. For a long time they have had great
wars and differences amongst themselves,
and all their prisoners of war they either eat
or enslave. When they besieged a town and
the people surrendered without resistance
they were held as vassals by the conquerors,
but if they had to use force they were re-
duced to slavery. They kept a certain dis-
cipline in their wars, for they have their
captain-generals, and their captains of four
hundred men, and other captains of two
hundred.^ Each company has its ensign,
who carries the banner ^^ attached to his

19

20 The Anonymous Conqueror

back on its staff in such a way that it does
not hinder him from fighting, nor interfere
with anything he wishes to do; and he car-
ries it so well attached to his body, that un-
less he is cut to pieces it cannot be untied nor
taken away by any means. It is their regular
custom to give good pay and rewards to those
who serve with valor in the wars, signaliz-
ing themselves by some heroic feat of arms,
and if one such were among the vilest slaves,
they would make him a captain and Lord,
and give him vassals, and hold him in such
esteem that wherever he goes they pay him
the same respect and reverence that they
give to their own Lord. He who has so
distinguished himself is marked by a special
manner of wearing the hair, so that he may
be known as a man who has done some great
action by everybody at the first glance, for
it is not their custom to wear any covering
on the head. Every time that he performs
some notable action, he is marked in some
other similar way, and the great Lords always
make him presents,"

CHAPTER IV

OF THEIR OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE ARMS

The armor which they use in war are cer-
tain loose garments Hke doublets made of
quilted cotton, a finger and a half thick, and
sometimes two fingers; they are very strong.^^
Over them they wear a doublet and hose all
one garment, which are corded behind. This
garment is made of thick cloth and is covered
with a layer of feathers of different colors,
making a fine effect. Some companies of
soldiers wear white and crimson, others blue
and yellow, and others again of different
styles. The Lords wear over everything gar-
ments like short jackets, which with us are
of chain mail, but theirs are of gold and
silver gilt. These feather garments are in
proportion to their weapons, for neither arrows
nor darts pierce them, but are thrown back
without making any wound, and even with

21

22 The Anonymous Conqueror

swords it is difficult to penetrate through
them. To guard the head they carry things
like the heads of serpents, tigers, lions, or
wolves, with open jaws, and the head of the
man is inside the head of the creature as if
it was being devoured. They are of wood
covered over with feathers and with jewels
of gold and precious stones, which is a won-
derful sight. ^^ They use shields of various
kinds, made of good thick reeds which grow
in that country, interwoven with cotton of
double thickness, and they cover them with
precious stones and round plates of gold,
which makes them so strong that nothing
can go through, unless from a good cross-
bow. Some arrows it is true pierced them,
but could do them no harm. And because
some of these shields have been seen in
Spain I say they are not of the kind borne in
war, but only those used in the festivals
and dances which they are accustomed to
have.^^

Their weapons of offense are bows and
arrows, and darts which they throw with a

Offensive and Defensive Arms 23

machine made of another stick. ^^ The tips
at the end are of edged stones, or of a strong,
sharp fish-bone. Some darts have three tips,^^
making three wounds at a throw, for on
one stick they insert three very slender and
sharp tips. They have swords of this kind,
— of wood made Hke a two-handed sword,
but with the hilt not so long; about three
fingers in breadth. The edges are grooved,
and in the grooves they insert stone knives,
that cut like a Toledo knife. ^^ I saw one
day an Indian fighting with a mounted man,
and the Indian gave the horse of his antag-
onist such a blow in the breast that he
opened it to the entrails, and it fell dead on
the spot. And the same day I saw another
Indian give another horse a blow in the neck,
that stretched it dead at his feet. They use
slings which carry very far, and ordinarily
carry all these weapons. It is one of the
finest things in the world to see them in war
in their squadrons, because they move with
perfect order, and are splendidly attired,
and make such a fine appearance that noth-

24 The Anonymous Conqueror

ing could be better. Among them are very
resolute men who affront death with deter-
mination. I saw one of them defending
himself most valiantly against two light-horse-
men, and another against three or four. The
Spaniards seeing that they could not kill
him, one of them lost patience, and darted
his lance at him, but the Indian, before it
reached him, caught it in the air, and with
it fought for more than an hour until two
foot-soldiers arrived ^^ who wounded him
with one or two successful arrows. One of
them got in front of him, and the other
grabbed him from behind and stabbed him.
While they are fighting they sing and dance,
and from time to time utter the most fright-
ful whoopings and whistlings in the world,
especially when they see that they are gain-
ing the advantage, and it is a certain fact
that, to any one who had never seen them
fight before, their yells and manly appear-
ance would be intimidating. In war they
are the most cruel people possible, because
they give quarter to no one, neither brother,

Offensive and Defensive Arms 25

nor relation, nor friend, nor do they allow
any prisoners to live, except young and pretty
women, killing and eating all others. When
they are not able to carry away their booty
and the spoils of the enemy they burn it all.
They are not permitted to kill Lords, ^^ but
they made them their prisoners, and carried
them off well guarded. Soon afterwards they
prepared a festival, in anticipation of which
there are in the middle of the squares of the
cities certain massive platforms of masonry,
about half as high again as a man. One
mounts these by steps, and on the top is a
place as round as a quoit, and in the middle
of this place is fixed a round stone, having
a hole in the center.^» The Lord prisoner
mounted, and was tied to the stone by the
narrow part of the foot with a long thin cord.
They gave him one of their swords and a
buckler, and soon the same man who took
him prisoner came to fight with him. If he
again succeeded in the combat he was es-
teemed a most valiant man, and was given
some insignia of feats of arms, and the Lord

26 The Anonymous Conqueror

in whose service he was gave him other re-
wards. But if the prisoner conquered him
and six others, making in all seven vanquished,
he was restored to liberty, and every one who
had taken anything from him was compelled
to restore it. It happened that the men of
the dominion of Huecicingo [Huexotzinco]
were fighting with the men of Tula, and the
Lord of the latter city put himself so far for-
ward that he could not join his companions,
and although he did marvelous feats of arms,
his antagonists so charged upon him that
they took him and carried him to their city.
There they arranged for the customary holi-
days, making him mount to the stone, and
there came to fight him seven of the ablest
warriors, whom he killed one after the other,
he being fastened to the stone according to
usage. Those of Huecicingo seeing this be-
thought them that if they unloosed a man
so valiant and robust he would not stop
until he had made an end of them; there-
fore they resolved to kill him and did so,
which act brought upon them the reputa-

Offensive and Defensive Arms 27

tion of being infamous throughout all that
country, for they had broken against that
Lord the law and general custom, not keeping
it with him as with all other Lords.^^

CHAPTER V

DRESS OF THE MEN

The dress of this people consisted of several
mantles of cotton-like sheets, although not
so large, worked with bright patterns and
with fringes or borders. Each of the men
has two or three of these mantles, and they
are worn by tying the ends over the chest.
In winter they cover themselves with a kind
of shepherd's coat made of a very fine feather
that has the appearance of silk ^^ or like our
felt hats, and they are deep red, black, white,
gray, and yellow. They cover their loins
front and back with very beautiful towels
which are like large handkerchiefs such as
we use on the head when traveling; they
are of various colors and adorned in different
ways with tassels which are placed so that
one falls in front and the other behind.
They use shoes with only a sole and no upper
part, and with the heel piece very much

29

30 The Anonymous Conqueror

adorned. From between the toes come out
wide thongs which they secure to the instep
of the foot with buttons. On the head
they do not wear anything except when they
go to war or in these festivals and dances.
They have their hair long and tied in various
styles.

CHAPTER VI

DRESS OF THE WOMEN

The women use chemises of cotton with
sleeves hke surpKces, long and wide, filled
with beautiful work with fringes and trim-
mings which make a fine appearance. They
put on two, three, or four of these chemises,
all different, some longer than others so that
below they appear like a petticoat. They
use also, from the waist down, another kind
of garment of pure cotton which goes as
far as the ankles, also very splendid and well
worked. They wear nothing on the head,
not even in the cold countries, but they
allow the hair to grow long, which is very
beautiful, although generally black or ap-
proaching chestnut color, so that with this
costume and the long and loose locks which
cover the back they look beautiful. In the
hot countries near the sea they use veils
over the head, of a tawny color, resembling
the Spanish redecillas.

31

CHAPTER VII

OF THE THREAD WHICH THEY WORK

The silk thread with which they work
they take from the belly of hares and rab-
bits, and they dye it the color desired in
the matted state. These tints are made
with such perfection that one could not ask
for better. Afterwards it is spun and with
this thread they do beautiful work, almost as
fine as our silk. Although they wash it the
color is never lost and the cloth lasts a long
time. 2^

83

CHAPTER VIII

OF THE FOODS WHICH THEY HAVE AND USE

The grain with which they make their
bread is a kind of pea, and there is white,
crimson, black, and reddish. Planted, it pro-
duces a high cane like a half pike, which gives
two or three ears where the grain is, as in
Panizo or Panic grass. In order to make
bread they take a great olla which they fill
with four or five pitchers full of water, and
they put fire beneath it until the water boils.
Then they take away the fire, and the grain
they call Tayul,^^ and over it they add a
little lime in order to loosen the thin skin
which covers it. In two or three hours
when it has become cold they wash it well
in the river or in the houses with many
waters, so that it comes to be perfectly clean
of all the lime, and then they mash it on some
stones made for this purpose. When it has
been mashed they put water with it and

35

36 The Anonymous Conqueror

make a paste, and so grinding it and mashing
it at the same time, they make the bread.
They put it to cook in large earthen baking
pans a Httle larger than a sieve, and as they
cook the bread they eat it, because it is much
better hot than cold. They have another
method of preparing, which is to make some
balls of this mass which they cover with
leaves and put it in a great pot with a little
water, and cover it well so that with the
heat and with keeping them covered they
are cooked. They also cook it in fritters
[tamales] with other things which they are
accustomed to eat. They raise many great
hens like peacocks, very good to eat. There
are a great number of quail of four or five
species and some of these are like partridges.
They have also ducks and drakes of many
classes, domestic and wild, from whose plumes
they make their garments for wars and fes-
tival; they use these feathers for many things
because they are of various colors, and every
year they take them from the birds. There
are also great and little parrots which they

The Foods They Use 37

have in their houses and whose plumes also
are used. They kill for eating a great num-
ber of stags and roes, hares and rabbits,
which are found in great quantities in these
parts. They cultivate a great diversity of
plants and garden truck of w^hich they are
very fond, and these they eat raw as well
as in various cooked dishes. They have one
— like a pepper — as a condiment which they
call chile and they never eat anything with-
out it. These people live with very little
food, as little perhaps as any other people
in the world. Only the Lords have a great
variety of viands, sauces and vegetable soups,
pies and pastries of all the animals which
they have, fruits, vegetables, and fish, which
are in abundance. They use all of these
things, and they are served in plates and
soup plates upon mats of palm leaf very
beautifully worked which are in all of their
houses, as also seats in which they sit, made
in various manners but all low, which do not
raise them above the ground more than a
palm or six inches. The food is brought to

38 The Anonymous Conqueror

the Lords with a towel of cotton so that they
may wipe the hands and the mouth. They
are served by two or three chief waiters and
the Lords eat all they wish; and then what
is left over is divided among other Lords,
their vassals, who are there in order to make
their court to them.

CHAPTER IX

OF THE DRINKS THAT THEY USE

They make various classes of wine, but
the beverage which is the most excellent
and which they use principally is one which
they call Cachanatle [chocolate]. They make
it of certain seeds produced by a tree whose
fruit is after the manner of a cucumber, and
inside are some thick grains like date stones.
The tree that produces this fruit is the most
delicate of all, and does not grow except in
hot lands and strong soils; before they sow
it they plant two other trees of thick foliage,
and when these approach the height of two
men they plant between them this one which
produces the said fruit, so that the others,
because of its delicate nature, may defend
it and keep from it the winds and the sun
and cover it. These trees are held in great
esteem because the said grains are the prin-
cipal money that passes in the land and each

40 The Anonymous Conqueror

one is of the value of half a marchetto of our
money.25 Inconvenient as this money must
be, it comes after gold and silver and is the
one most used by every one in this land.

CHAPTER X

HOW THEY MAKE THE CACAO

These seeds which are called almonds or
cacao they pound and reduce to powder,
and also grind other small seeds and put the
powder in certain jars with spouts. Directly
they add water and stir with a spoon, and
after it has been well beaten they pass it
from one vase to another, which froths it,
and this froth they collect in another jar
kept for the purpose. When they wish to
drink it, they froth it with little spoons of
gold or silver or of wood, and it is then drunk,
but they have to open the mouth wide be-
cause it is froth, and must have room for
liquefying little by little. This is the most
healthful and most nutritious aliment of all
known to the world, for one who takes a cup
of it, though he may make a long journey,
can pass all day without taking another
thing, and being cold of its nature, it is bet-
ter in hot weather than in cold.

41

CHAPTER XI

OF OTHER KINDS OF WINE WHICH THEY HAVE

They have a kind of tree, or rather a plant
something between a bush and a thistle,
whose leaves are as thick as the leg of a man
just above the knee, and about as long as
the arm, more or less, according to its age.
It throws up a stem in the middle which
grows to twice or three times the height of
a man approximately, and the thickness of
a six-year-old boy. When the time arrives
and the plant is ripe, they bore a hole at the
foot whence a liquor distils which they keep
in vessels of the bark of a tree, made expressly
for that purpose. One or two days after-
wards they drink it till they fall down from
pure drunkenness, and to drink of it exces-
sively and to get intoxicated they consider
highly honorable. This tree is most useful,
for they get from it wine, vinegar, honey, and
arrope.26 They make of it cloth for men

43

44 The Anonymous Conqueror

and women, shoes,^^ cordage, beams for
houses, and shingles for covering them. The
ends of the leaves are very hard and pointed,
and they are used as needles for sewing, and
for making stitches in sword cuts, and other
matters. The leaves of this bush or thistle
are to them what our vines are to us, and
they call the plant maguey. They make
still another drink of it, but out of the leaves.
These they steep until they can remove the
thick cuticle; then they pound the fleshy
substance with a wooden tool made for the
purpose, and cook this pulp in underground
ovens. 2^ This makes a wine which they
drink to drunkenness. Another is called
Chicha, and this is made from the grain which
they eat,25 and is of different kinds, red and
white.

CHAPTER XII

OF THE ORDER OF THE GOVERNMENT

These people have a Grand Lord who is
Hke an emperor, and they moreover had
and have others hke kings, dukes, counts,
governors, gentlemen ^^ shield-bearers and
men-at-arms. The Lords appointed the gov-
ernors of the provinces, the administrators,
and other officials. These Lords are so dreaded
and obeyed that they are adored like gods.
There was such justice among them that for
the least crime or dereliction that any one
committed, he was put to death or reduced
to slavery. Theft and murder were severely
punished, and above all the entrance into
another man's land, in order to steal fruits
or grain. If any one entered a field and
stole three or four ears of maize he became
the slave of the owner of the field. If any
one was guilty of treason or any other crime
against the emperor or king he was con-
demned to death with all his relatives unto
the fourth generation.

45

CHAPTER XIII

OF THEIR RELIGION, WORSHIP, AND TEMPLES

They have very large and beautiful edi-
fices for their idols, where they prayed,
oflFering sacrifices and giving worship. They
have priests destined for service of the
temples, the same as our bishops, canons,
and other dignitaries who serve in them and
there live and reside ordinarily; for these
temples have fine spacious habitations where
all the sons of the Lords are brought up to
serve the idols, until they reach the age of
marriage. In the meantime they remained
in the temple and never left it, nor cut their
hair until after leaving it and entering into
the marriage state. These mosques or tem-
ples had their rents assigned for the neces-
saries and the maintenance of the priests
who served in them. The idols they wor-
shipped were figures of the size of a man or
even larger, made of paste composed of all

47

48 The Anonymous Conqueror

the seeds they know and eat, made with
blood from human hearts. Of such material
were their idols. They were seated in chairs
similar to those of professors in universi-
ties, with a sword in one hand and buckler
in the other, and the places where they were
were towers ^^ of the following style i^^

CHAPTER XIV

WHAT THESE TOWERS WERE LIKE

They make a tower, square, of one hun-
dred and fifty paces, more or less, long, and
one hundred and fifteen to one hundred and
twenty wide. They begin this edifice in a
solid mass and, arriving at a height of two
men, they leave on three sides a passage
about two paces and for one of the long sides
they make a stairway until they return to
the height of two bodies of a man; and the
construction continues all solid of lime and
mortar. Here for the three sides they leave
a passage of the two paces and for the other
they go putting up the stairway; and in
this manner it rises so that the steps reach
to be one hundred and twenty or one hun-
dred and thirty. They leave on top a little
square and in the middle they begin other
two towers which reach to the height of ten
or twelve bodies with their windows above.

49

50 The Anonymous Conqueror

In these high towers are the idols well ar-
ranged and well kept, and also all of the place
well decorated. Where they keep the prin-
cipal god no one is permitted to enter, only
the high priest, and this principal god has the
distinct name according to the province;
because in the great City of Mexico he is
called Horchilobos [Huitzilopochtli] and in
another city which they call Chuennila
[Cholula] Quecadquaal [Quetzalcoatl] and
also in the others. They always celebrate
the festivals of their idols sacrificing many
men and women, boys and girls, and when
they feel the need of some necessity such as
rain, or excess of rain, or when they see
danger from their enemy, or suffer from
some other calamity, then they make these
sacrifices in the following manner. [See plate]

CHAPTER XV

OF THE SACRIFICES

They take him who has to be sacrificed,
and first they carry him through the streets
and squares, very finely adorned, with great
festivities and rejoicing. Many a one re-
counts to him his needs, saying that since he
is going where his God is, he can tell him so
that he may remedy them. Then he gives
him refreshments and other things. In this
manner he receives many gifts, as is the
case when some one has killed a wolf, and
carries the head through the streets. And all
the gifts go to those who offer the sacri-
fice. They lead him to the temple, where
they dance and carry on joyously, and the
man about to be sacrificed dances and car-
ries on like the rest. At length the man who
offers the sacrifice strips him naked, and
leads him at once to the stairway of the tower
where is the stone idol. Here they stretch

51

52 The Anonymous Conqueror

him on his back, tying the hands to the
sides and fastening the legs. Then all com-
mence to sing and dance around him, chant-
ing the principal message which he is to
bear to the God. Soon comes the sacrificing
priest — and this is no small office among
them — armed with a stone knife, which cuts
like steel, and is as big as one of our large
knives. He plunges the knife into the breast,
opens it, and tears out the heart hot and
palpitating. And this as quickly as one
might cross himself. At this point the chief
priest of the temple takes it, and anoints
the mouth of the principal idol with the
blood; then filling his hand with it he flings
it towards the sun, or towards some star, if
it be night. Then he anoints the mouths
of all the other idols of wood and stone, and
sprinkles blood on the cornice of the chapel
of the principal idol. Afterwards they burn
the heart, preserving the ashes as a great
relic, and likewise they burn the body of the
sacrifice, but these ashes are kept apart
from those of the heart in a different vase.

Of the Sacrifices 53

At other times they sacrifice human beings
according to some slow ritual lasting hours,^^
roasting the heart, and wrapping the bones
of the legs or of the arms in many folds of
their paper, and keeping them as valuable
relics. But the inhabitants of each province
have their own method of sacrifice and idola-
try according to their particular deities,
the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, Serpents,
Lions, or other wild animals. They have
figures and statues of these in mosques,
and in other provinces, particularly that of
Panuco, they adore indecent objects in their
mosques,^^ and openly they have them dis-
played in sculptures in their squares, in reliefs
of the most filthy character (representing
the different methods of embracement of
a woman by a man).^^ In this province of
Panuco the men are great sodomites, cowards,
and drunkards; it is almost incredible the
length to which they carry their passion for
intoxicating fluids (when they can no longer
stand and drink, they lie down and have it
injected by a squirt into their breech). ^^ It is

54 The Anonymous Conqueror

notorious that in the figures of their idols
they had in view the devil who enters into
those idols, and spoke to them, ordering
them to sacrifice, and to give human hearts,
because they did not eat other things. From
this cause came their earnest desire to sacri-
fice men to them, and to offer them hearts
and blood. And also the demon ordered
them to do many other things which they
did punctually, in conformity with what
he told them. These people of all whom
God has created are the most devoted to their
religion, and observant of it; in so much so
that they offered themselves as voluntary
sacrifices for the salvation of their souls;
also drawing blood from their tongues, their
ears, their legs, and their arms to offer it in
sacrifice to their idols. There are in the en-
virons and along the roads many hermi-
tages, or oratories, where travelers go to
shed their blood and offer it to their idols.
Even on the tops of the highest mountains
their oratories existed and were held in peculiar
veneration.^^

CHAPTER XVI

OF THE CITIES OF THIS LAND AND DESCRIP-
TION OF SOME OF THEM

There are great cities here, especially
Táscala [Tlaxcala], which in some things
resembles Granada, but in others Segovia,
although its population is greater than that
of either. This Seignory [republic] is gov-
erned by various Lords [four], although
under certain circumstances they recognize
one as the principal, and he was captain-
general of the wars. It is a goodly land of
plain and mountain, very populous, and
produces much grain. Six leagues distant
from Táscala on a plain is another city re-
sembling Valladolid, in which I counted one
hundred and ninety towers of mosques and
houses of Lords. ^^ This Seignory is gov-
erned by twenty-six chiefs; all respect and
do reverence to an old man more than
one hundred and twenty years of age, and

55

56 The Anonymous Conqueror

carry him in a litter. The district is most
beautiful, and abounds with fruit trees,
principally cherries [wild] and apples, ^^ and
produces much maize. Six leagues from
that city is another called Huexotcingo,
which is situated at the foot of a mountain,
and resembles Burgos. This Seignory is
governed by consuls; the district is fair
to the eye with most fertile plains and low
hills agreeable and productive.

CHAPTER XVII

THE LAKE OF MEXICO

The city of Temistitan is surrounded by
mountains on all sides, except between North
and East. Towards the South there are very
high mountains, including the volcano Popo-
catepetl, round as a heap of wheat, and four
leagues or a little more in height. In its
highest part it has a mouth a quarter of a
league in circuit, from which twice a day
and sometimes in the night a mighty cloud
of smoke bursts out impetuously, and no
matter how strong the wind may be does not
vanish, but rises to the first region of the
heavens, and there mingles with the clouds,
ceasing to be plainly visible. This moun-
tain is eleven leagues from Mexico, and about
that city are other mountains of great height,
some of them ten leagues from Mexico, and
others eight. All these mountains are cov-
ered with snow for the greater part of the

57

58 The Anonymous Conqueror

year, and in the foothills on both sides are
most beautiful towns and villages. There
are other mountains, but not very high, being
between plain and mountain, and both sides
of these are covered with thick woods of pines,
ilexes, and oaks. At the foot of the sierras
commences a sweet-water lake which has a
shore-line of more than thirty leagues; half
of it in the direction of the mountains is
very good sweet water: the other half gives
birth to a current that runs furiously to the
north, and from there it is of salt water.'***
In the sweet-water lake, there are great
growths of tall, beautiful reeds, and many
fair villages and small towns, such as Cueta-
vaca which is now called Venezuela [Tlahuac],
which is large and pleasing; another is called
Mezquique [Mixquic], which is larger. Then
there is Caloacan [Culuacan], rather smaller
than either.^i Then there is Suchimilco,'*^
which is the largest of them all and remains a
little out of the lake and nearer to the shore.
There is another Huichilubusaco [Churu-
busco], and another called Mexicaltzinco

The Lake of Mexico 59

which is between the sweet water and the
salt. All these towns were on the sweet-
water lake and many of them in the middle.
The sweet-water lake is long and narrow,
and the salt one is round. In the sweet water
there are some small fish ; in the salt part they
are still smaller. ^^

CHAPTER XVIII

OF THE GREAT CITY OF TEMISTITAN,
MEXICO

The great city of Temistitan, Mexico, is
built on the salt part of the lake, but not
exactly in the middle, for it is a quarter of
a league from the nearest part [of the city]
to the shore. It is in circumference more
than two and a half leagues, or perhaps
three, more or less. The majority of those
who have visited it estimate the popula-
tion at seventy thousand inhabitants, rather
more than less/^ Three high causeways built
of stone and earth permit entrance [from the
mainland] and each of these has a breadth
of thirty paces or more. One of them passes
over two leagues of water before getting to
the city, and the others a league and a half.
These two cross the lake and enter the peopled
part [outskirts], in the middle of which they
come together, so that the two form one.

61

62 The Anonymous Conqueror

The other runs from the land towards the
city for about a quarter of a league, and
by it comes an aqueduct or stream of very
good and sweet water from a distance of three-
quarters of a league. The flow of the water
is thicker than the body of a man, and comes
into the center of the city. From it drink all
the inhabitants. It springs from the foot
of a hill where it forms a great fountain from
which they carry it to the city.^^

CHAPTER XIX

OF THE STREETS

The great city of Temistitan, Mexico, had
and has many fair and broad streets, though
among these are two or three pre-eminent.
Of the remainder half of each one is of hard
earth like a pavement, and the other half is
by water, so that they leave in their barks
and canoes, which are of wood hollowed out,
although some of them are large enough to
hold commodiously five persons. The in-
habitants go for a stroll some in canoes,
and others along the land, and keep up con-
versations. Besides there are other prin-
cipal streets entirely of water, and all the
travel is by barks and canoes, as I have said,
and without these they could neither leave
their houses, nor return to them, and all
the other towns being on the lake in the
sweet water are established in the same way.

63

CHAPTER XX

OF THE PLAZAS AND MARKET-PLACES

There are in the city of Temistitan, Mexico,
very large and beautiful plazas where they
sell all of the things which the natives use.
There was especially the great plaza ^^
which they call the Tutelula [Tlatelolco],
which may be three times the size of the
great square of Salamanca. All around it
are porticos where every day from twenty
to twenty-five thousand people come to buy
and sell. But on the market day there are
assembled as many as forty or fifty thou-
sand. This plaza has a system of its own,
for each class of merchandise has its own place.
On one side of the square are those who
sell gold [in quills], and on another those who
sell [precious] stones of divers classes mounted
in gold shapes of various birds and animals.
In another part they sell beads and mirrors,
in another feathers and tufted crests [of

65

66 The Anonymous Conqueror

birds], of all colors to adorn the cloths they
wear in war and holidays. Further on they
are busy turning stones into knives and
swords, which is a marvelous thing to see,
and of which we here [in Spain] have no
idea, and with them they make swords and
bucklers. In one part they sell cloths and
garments of various classes for men and in
another the habiliments of women. In an-
other place they sell sandals, in another the
tanned skins of deer and other animals,
and finery for the head made out of hair,
which all the Indian women wear.^^ Here
they sell cotton, there the grains which they
use for food, further on bread of divers sorts,
then pastry, then hens, chickens, and eggs.
Near them are hares, rabbits, deer, quail,
geese, and ducks. Soon we arrive at a place
where they sell wines of various classes,
and then we find all sorts of vegetables. In
this street they lay out the peppers, in that
medicinal roots and herbs, of which the
natives know an infinite variety. In an-
other street they have various fruits, and

Plazas and Market-places 67

further on fire-wood for houses, near-by lime,
and following it, [building] stones. In fact
each thing is by itself and in order. In
addition to this plaza there are others, and
markets for food in different parts of the city.

CHAPTER XXI

OF THE TEMPLES AND MOSQUES THAT IT HELD

For a long time they have had in this
great city many grand mosques or temples
in which they housed their idols and offered
sacrifice to them, but the chief mosque was
a most wonderful thing to see, since it was
as great as a city. It was surrounded by a
high wall of masonry, and had four principal
entrances, over each of which was a forti-
fied structure, filled with all kinds of the
arms which they used in their wars. The
Lord of the great temple was Montezuma
himself,^^ and he had within the walls two
thousand men, all selected for their valor,
and they guarded his person and accompanied
him. When there was any outbreak or
rebellion in the city or the environs, they
sallied forth, or at least a part of them, and
if more people were necessary then the rest
joined them, either in the city or its bound-

69

70 The Anonymous Conqueror

ary. Before leaving they went to the armo-
ries and armed themselves. Shortly after
they offered sacrifice to the chief idol, and
having been blessed departed for the war.
Within the circuit of the great temple there
were many habitations of different kinds,
and in some a thousand persons could be
lodged without annoyance. Within the en-
closure more than twenty towers were lo-
cated, all more or less similar to what has
been described, although among the rest,
there was one greater, longer, broader, and
higher, because it was the lodging of the chief
idol, for whom all had the greatest devotion.
The deities were in the upper part of the
tower [teocalli], and they looked upon them
with great devotion. In the lower part
were the lodgings and rooms of the priests
who served in the temple, but the sacrificers
were stationed elsewhere. In the mosques
of other cities they sing during the night
as if they were chanting matins, and they
do this also at many hours of the day,
divided into two choirs, one on each side,

Temples and Mosques 71

and continue according to a ritual, one side
intoning hymns, and the other responding ^^
as if they were singing vespers. Within the
mosque where that is done, there are foun-
tains and washing places for the service. ^'^

CHAPTER XXII

OF THE HABITATIONS

There were, and still are in this city, very
good and handsome houses of the Lords, so
large, and with so many halls, sitting-rooms,
and lodgings with gardens above ^^ and be-
low, that it was a marvelous thing to see.
I entered more than four times the house of
the chief Lord^^ without any other purpose
than to see things, and I walked till I was
tired, and never saw the whole of it. It was
the custom to place at the entrance of all
the houses of the Lords very large halls and
sitting-rooms around a great patio, and
there was one so great that it could contain
more than three thousand persons. On the
terraced roof above, it having the same ex-
tension, thirty mounted men could have
ridden cañas ^^ as comfortably as on a plaza.

This great city of Temistitan is a little
longer than its width, ^^ and in the middle of it

73

74 The Anonymous Conqueror

where the great mosque used to be, and the
palace of the Lord Montezuma, ^^ the Span-
iards built their citadel, and established their
quarters, and it is as well arranged, and has
as many handsome squares and streets, as
any city in the world. The streets are wide
and long, and lined by beautiful houses of
cement and brick, all of the same height,
except a few, which have towers, and this
uniformity improves their aspect. They
number in this ward and in the citadel of
the Spaniards more than four hundred good
houses, than which no city of Spain has
better within such a space, nor even in a
greater, and all are strong houses of stone ^*^ and
mortar. There are two great squares, and
the chief one has handsome arcades on all
the sides. Here also they have built a
fine church. The Franciscan convent is suffi-
ciently beautiful, but that of the Dominicans
is as large, as good, and as well made as any
in Spain. In this monastery live preaching
friars of upright life and great learning.
There is a good hospital and other hermitages.

The Habitations 75

The houses of the Indians remain in the neigh-
borhood of the citadel, or barracks of the
Spaniards, and they are surrounded on all
sides. In the ward of the Indians" there are
more than thirty churches where the natives
hear Mass, and are instructed in the things
of our holy faith. The people of this city
and the suburbs are very skillful with their
hands for every kind of thing, and of the
greatest ingenuity and industry in the world.
There are among them masters of occupa-
tions, and to make anything they only need
to see it made once or twice. There are
no people in the world who hold women in
less esteem, for they never tell them what
they do, even though they should know that
by doing so they would be benefited. They
have many women, like the Moors, but one
is the principal one and the mistress, and
the sons of this one inherit the property of
the father.

CHAPTER XXIII

MARRIAGE

They take as many women as they can
support, like the Moors, although, as has
been said, one is the principal one or wife.
The sons of this one inherit while the others
do not, and formerly they were considered
bastards. In the nuptials with the prin-
cipal woman they have some ceremonies
which they were not accustomed to have
with the others.

77

CHAPTER XXIV

OF THE BURIALS

They made in the earth an excavation
lined by a wall of rough stone and lime, in
which they placed the dead seated in a chair.
At the side they placed his sword and shield,
burying also certain jewels of gold. I helped
to take from a sepulcher something like
three thousand castellanos.^^ They placed
there also food and drink for some days,
and if it was a woman they left at the side the
distaff, the spindle, and other instruments of
work, saying that where they go they are to
be occupied in something and that the food
was to sustain them on the road. Many
times they burned the dead and interred the
ashes.

All of this province of New Spain and of
those other provinces eat human flesh, which
they have in greater esteem than any other

79

80 The Anonymous Conqueror

food, so much so that many times they go
to war and place themselves in peril only
to kill some one to eat. They are commonly
sodomites as I have said, and drink without
moderation.

NOTES

NOTES

^ The name of the capital of Montezuma is spelled
in various ways by the early chroniclers. In the ac-
count of the Anonymous Conqueror it is Temestitan,
and Temistitan. Cortes in his letters writes it Temix-
titan. In the manuscript of Bernal Diaz it is usually
spelled Tenustitan, while a somewhat later writer,
Cervantes de Salazar, gives it as Tenuztitlan in one
place, and in another as Tenuchtitlan. Gomara
gives this latter form. Today we know it as Tenoch-
titlan, which is the correct phonetic spelling, conform-
ing also to the representation of the name in the picture
writing of the Mexican codices and inscriptions. Its
meaning is well known. According to the best modern
Mexican authority, Peñafiel, and I quote from the
later and more extensive edition of his work on the
subject of geographic place names in Mexico, ** No-
menclatura Geográfica de Mexico," 1897, the word
may be analyzed as follows: Te-noch-ti-tlan. Tenoch
is composed of two particles, Te, represented in pic-
ture writing by a rock the Nahuan name for which is
tetl, and noch, represented by a cactus tree growing
out of the same, the name for which is nochtli. This
cactus is the nopal or tuna very common today in
Mexico. By elision of the final tl, we thus have
tenoch, expressed by the two objects representing the

83

84 Notes

name of the division of the Nahuan family bearing
the name of Tenocha. There are many variants of
the glyph if such it may be called, the most common
being the one above referred to. Others show an eagle
perched on the branches of the cactus, and again we
find it given with an eagle devouring a snake. Peña-
fiel considers the ti, a ligature, and tlan, meaning among,
to be understood; hence the sign means among the
nopals, or as probably was further expressed by the
picture or glyph, the place founded by Tenoch.

^ To the north.

^ It is of course understood that the native Mexicans
never used either tin or iron, and these mines must
have been found by the Spaniards.

^ The Coyote or Coyotl. Note by Icazbalceta.

^ Peccaries.

® The Tlacuatzin or Tlacuache. Note by Icazbal-
ceta. The Tlacuache is a small animal like an opossum
which feeds on fruits. In Oaxaca it is such a pest
that when the fruit of a certain tree is ripe night-
watchmen are often employed to protect the fruit»

^ The valuable description of the Indian houses
of Texcoco by Pomar may be used in amplifying
this brief notice of the Anonymous Conqueror con-
cerning the dwellings of Tenochtitlan and the Valley
of Mexico. Pomar states that the form and con-
struction of these houses is low, with no upper story.
Some of them are built of stone and lime; others of
stone and simple clay, the most of them of adobe
(sun-dried mud). The covering is of beams, and in-

Notes 85

stead of planking there are small strips so well fitted
together that none of the earth which forms the top
can run through. Most of them enclose a court
around which are the rooms which they require;
their dormitories and reception rooms for the men
in one section, for the women in another, their
storage place, kitchens, and corrals. The houses of
the principal men and caciques, particularly those
of the kings, are very large and massive woodwork.
They stand on platforms, the lowest of w^iich is six
feet high, and the highest thirty to forty feet in height.
The largest rooms are more than one hundred feet
long and as many wide. They are square, and in the
middle are many wooden pillars at a fixed distance
from each other resting on great blocks of stone,
and on these the rest of the woodwork is supported.
These rooms have no outer doors, only doorways
with wooden posts like those inside. The floors were
of white stucco or cement.

* The conquerors accustomed to treat with the
Arabs of their country, some give the names of Mes-
quites to the temples of the Indians, although they are
commonly called cues. Note by Icazbalceta.

^ On the subject of soldiers and the organization
of the army the reader should consult the critical
essay by the late Adolf F. Bandelier, "On the Art of
War and Mode of Warfare of the Ancient Mexicans,"
published in the Tenth Annual Report of the Peabody
Museum, Harvard University, 1877.

*° The banner referred to is a standard or insignia

86 Notes

but not a flag. They are represented in the Lienzo
of Tlaxcala as well as in other codices. On this sub-
ject Mrs. Nuttall has published an exhaustive treatise
basing her studies on the wonderful example of a stan-
dard or insignia now in the Ethnographical in Vienna.
The title is, "Standard or Head-Dress? An His-
torical Essay on a Relic of Ancient Mexico," Archae-
ological and Ethnological Papers of the Peabody
Museum, Harvard University, Vol. I, No. 1, 1888.

^^ To give a man vassals was to make him the
feudal Lord of one or more villages. Many writers
have denied the existence of the feudal system in
Mexico, but it seems probable that it existed though
it may not have been hereditary.

^^ This armor was called ichcauipilli and was made
so strongly that many of the early Spanish soldiers
used it as a protection against the darts and swords of
the Indians. It is represented in the codices, and in
the American Museum of Natural History there is
a life-size figure of terra cotta from the Valley of
Mexico. It was collected by the translator and de-
scribed by him in *'An Ancient Figure of Terra-Cotta
from the Valley of Mexico," in Bulletin of the A. M.
N. H. Vol. IX, Article XVII, 1897.

^^ An example of one of these mosaic-covered
head-pieces in the form of an animal's head may be
seen in the British Museum.

^^ These shields were called chimalli and the several
examples which have been preserved in Mexico and
Europe are probably of the kind referred to by the

Notes 87

Anonymous Conqueror as having been used solely
for festivals and dances.

^^ This instrument was known as the atlatl and a
number still exist in various museums, some of them
beautifully carved and still exhibiting gold-leaf cover-
ing. These highly decorated spear throwers were
probably used in the ceremonies in which the feather
mosaic shields were used. There is a survival of the
atlatl in the spear thrower used by the Tarascan fisher-
men of Lake Chápala. On this subject of the atlatl
consult the paper by Mrs. Zelia Nuttall, "The Atlatl
or Spear Thrower of the Ancient Mexicans." Archse-
ological and Ethnological of the Peabody Museum,
Harvard University, Vol. I, No. 3, 1891.

^^ Three- tipped darts, probably like those referred
to here are used by the Tarascan fisherman above
mentioned, for use with the atlatl.

^^ This saw sword is the maquahuitl. No speci-
mens of this weapon have come down to us, but numer-
ous representations are found in the codices.

^* Probably Indian allies of the Spaniards.

^^ This refers to those who held fiefs.

^° In several of the codices we find representations
of this gladiatorial combat and full descriptions are
given by a number of the early Spanish chroniclers.

21 Pomar in his narrative of the city of Texcoco,
Ms. relates with some variations the ceremonies of
this extraordinary sacrifice which the Spaniards called
gladiatorial. Although he reduces to four the num-
ber of those who contended against the prisoner he

88 Notes

states that no one was ever so valiant as to escape from
the four. Note by Icazbalceta.

22 Fabric of silk or cloth dyed a very bright purple.
Note by Icazbalceta.

23 The Anonymous Conqueror was deceived in re-
gard to this matter, for the Mexican silk was made
from the Mexican ramie, which is identical with "China
grass.'* It was a trade secret, and the merchant
caste kept it as long as they could. Ramie is the
fiber of a tall nettle.

2^ TlaoUi or Tlaoyalli, that is to say maize. Note
by Icazbalceta. Probably tamales.

25 A small piece of copper money with the Q^gy
of San Marcos, which is worth about two sous of a
franc. Note by Ternaux. In the Mexican codices
a bag which contained 8000 grains of cacao repre-
sented the number 8000.

2^ A kind of sweetmeat made by boiling the fresh
liquor.

27 The Mexicans never wore shoes, a two-toe-
strap sandal was the universal foot-gear when such
article of clothing was worn.

2* This is tequila, a hot intoxicating liquor, color-
less and of a smoky taste, distilled from the maguey.
It is also called mescal.

29 Maize.

2^ The Italian word is cavalieri.

^^ These towers were the well-known teocallis, of
which a good example may still be seen in Teayo,
Vera Cruz.

Notes 89

^2 See the plate. No other illustration of this
style or type of teocalli is known to the translator.

2^ We are ignorant of the signification of the ad-
verbial expression per punti and hora: Ternaux trans-
lates sans preliminaire, it might be interpreted á
horas fijas. Note by Icazbalceta.

2^ Teocallis or towers.

^^ This paragraph is not translated into Spanish
by Icazbalceta.

2^ This paragraph is not translated into Spanish by
Icazbalceta.

^^ Pilgrimages are still made to the Sacromonte (now
dedicated to the virgin) but there is an avenue of
cypresses leading to it, whose trees must be more than
a thousand years old. In Tetzcuco they say that the
remains exist of an old oratory sacred to Tlaloc, on
the top of the mountain of that name behind Tetz-
cutzingo, a combination of the Amequeme chain which
terminates in Popocatepetl, on whose eastern flank
the Sacromonte is located. Pilgrims after praying
at the shrine climb the mountain as far as they can.

^* This undoubtedly refers to the sacerdotal city of
Cholula.

^^ Tejocotes.

^^ It is difficult to comprehend either the Spanish
or Italian, for neither writer seemed to know the
geography of the two lakes.

^^ It is at the foot of the Hill of the Star where the
fires were lighted every fifty-two years, and a good
road runs to Ixtapalapan, where salt-works had been

90 Notes

established as far back as the time of the "Toltecs,"
upon the south shore of the lake of Tetzcuco or Mexico.
The fresh-water lake rises from springs in the rocks
forming the southeastern end.

^2 Xochimilco.

^^ We are reminded here of a better and much truer
description which was given by a Mexican poet who
in choice sapphics before the coming of the Spaniards
compared the string of lovely small towns along the
south and west of the lake of Xochimilco to a line of
beautiful girls chattering and laughing and paddling
their feet in the water.

^ Prescott in his Conquest of Mexico questions the
statement of the Anonymous Conqueror concerning
the population, because all the principal ancient
writers, such as Zuazo, Peter Mártir, Gomara, and
Herrera, agree in giving to the City of Mexico at the
time of the arrival of the Spaniards 70,000 families;
it is probable that the original Spanish text of the
Anonymous Conqueror stated also families, and
the Italian translator made a mistake in interpreting
habit atori when he should have written fuochi. In
this case this document would confirm the usual
calculation of 300,000 inhabitants. Note by Icaz-
balceta. We are inclined to believe that the estimate
of the Anonymous Conqueror is a more sane and rea-
sonable one than those of the other early writers
who were not eyewitnesses of the conquest, and hence
had not the same opportunity of judging of the size
of the city as the Anonymous Conqueror.

Notes 91

*^ The aqueduct ran from Chapultepec to the
great boulevard between Tenochtitlan and Mexico
and was carried on to the Salto by the Spaniards
long afterwards. The Anonymous Conqueror sup-
posed that the two cities were one organization, but
they were distinct, and the two aqueducts, on the
east from Chapultepec, and on the west (Calzada
Veronica) from the spring of the Four Lionesses, in
the hills towards Toluca, ending where the American
Cemetery is now located, were probably built before
the arrival of the Aztecs in the valley of Mexico, even
before the Culuas arrived in the valley. The posi-
tion of Tenochtitlan was strong, but it was necessary
to hold the two springs from a possible enemy. If
these passed into the hands of invaders the great city
was compelled to surrender even to savage foes much
their inferiors.

^^ For a longer and slightly more detailed descrip-
tion of the great Tianguiz or market the reader is
referred to the Second Letter of Cortes, MacNutt
ed. Vol. I, pp. 257, 259.

^^ We suspect here some corruption in the text,
because the phrase, conciere de testa fatti di capelli
che usano tutte I'indiane, is unintelligible for me at
least. Conciero is a word little used in the Italian,
as we only find it verified by a single authority (Cartas
del Tasso) and the meaning is given of rassettatura,
conciatura, that is, composition, finery as the old writers
said. With some violence it might be extended to
signify head-dress or adornment for the head: but

92 Notes

the following remains to be explained, that is to say,
that this adornment was made of hair (capelH).
Ternaux translates (p. 96) des corbeilles faites avec
des chevaux dont toutes les Indiennes font usage:
the which w^e do not know how he was able to deduce:
and I do not know what variation there might be in
the text of the edition of 1606 which was the one he
used. I have translated from that of 1556. All of
our early writers make long mention of the famous
market and of the things sold there, but I do not find
in any of them that which would correspond to these
head-dresses of the Indian women. It seems to have
been the general custom among them to leave the
head uncovered. Note by Icazbalceta.

'** As Pontifex Maximus.

*^ Antiphonally.

^° This was the case in the temple of Quetzalcoatl
at Cholula.

^^ On the terrace roof.

^2 Montezuma in the Coatepantli.

^ The game of Canes was a sport in which two
bands threw their canes at each other to simulate
javelins. This sport the Spaniards inherited from the
Arabs, by whom it was called Lab-el-jend, or cane
play.

^ It was shaped somewhat like the ace of diamonds.

^^ Within the Coatepantli.

66 TetzontH.

67 The faction of Tlaltelolco.

6* The search for gold in the graves of the ancient

Notes 93

Mexicans was later prosecuted with great vigor by-
soldiers acting under the orders of Cortes, not only
in the vicinity of the former capital of the Aztecs in
the Valley of Mexico, but in various parts of southern
Mexico, and large quantities of gold objects were
taken out and melted up.

DUE DATE

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1992

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